The present invention relates to a supernatant liquid collector with a balance weight forming function and a centrifugal apparatus using the same, in particular, to a supernatant liquid collector with a balance weight forming function which is capable of forming a balance weight for centrifugation at the same time that it collects a primary supernatant liquid and a centrifugal apparatus using the same.
In the medical field, in order to obtain a test preparation by which white blood cells are labelled, blood collected from human bodies has been treated as described below. The treatment will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 9.
First, the blood is left stationary for a prescribed period of time and allowed to separate into a primary supernatant liquid and red blood cells so as to settle the red blood cells. Then the primary supernatant liquid alone is taken out and centrifuged to a secondary supernatant liquid and a secondary sediment liquid, that is, a white blood cell liquid.
After that, physiological saline is added to the above white blood cell liquid, the solution is centrifuged to a tertiary supernatant liquid and a tertiary sediment liquid, that is, a purified white blood cell liquid, and the tertiary supernatant liquid is disposed of. On the other hand, the secondary supernatant liquid is centrifuged to a quaternary supernatant liquid, that is, serum and a quaternary sediment liquid.
Lastly, physiological saline, a radioactive isotope In (indium), and the above serum are added to the purified white blood cell liquid to obtain a test preparation by which white blood cells are labelled.
In such a treatment, when centrifuging the supernatant or sediment liquid of each step, a balance weight is required which is as heavy as the supernatant or sediment liquid, and conventionally such a balance weight has been formed manually using the same amount of water as the supernatant or sediment liquid.
The amount of primary supernatant liquid to be centrifuged, however, will vary from blood to blood collected from a human body, and the manual operation of pouring the same amount of water as the primary supernatant liquid into a container for the balance weight is troublesome. In addition, since a balance weight has been formed from visual estimation with a dropping pipet, an error has been likely to arise in measurement of the balance weight, which should have been as heavy as the primary supernatant.
Further, as described above, in order to obtain a test preparation by which white blood cells are labelled, a total of three configuration steps have been required starting from the primary supernatant, and since each step is troublesome and takes a considerable length of time, a person who is engaged in such operation may be infected with a disease due to his or her fault. In addition, acquiring a skill of such operation requires a considerable amount of effort.
Still further, since a radioactive isotope such as In is used in the above test preparation, it is feared that the operator may be exposed to radiation.
In the light of the problems described above, the object of this invention is to provide a supernatant liquid collector with a balance weight forming function which is capable of collecting a primary supernatant liquid and forming a balance weight to the exact weight of the primary supernatant liquid at the same time without requiring human hands, and in addition, to provide a centrifugal apparatus which uses the above supernatant liquid collector, and therefore, is capable of performing a number of times of centrifugation without requiring human hands.
Specifically, a supernatant liquid collector with a balance weight forming function of the first invention includes: a first syringe in which a liquid to be separated into a primary supernatant liquid and a primary sediment liquid by sedimentation is accumulated; a second syringe in which a liquid with a specific gravity equal to that of the above primary supernatant liquid is accumulated; a first treatment container which receives the primary supernatant liquid discharged from the above first syringe; a first balance container which receives the liquid discharged from the above second syringe; and a pushing member which pushes plungers of the above first and second syringes at the same time,
the pushing member pushes the plunger of the first syringe and thereby discharges the primer supernatant liquid in the first syringe into the first treatment container while pushing the plunger of the second syringe and thereby discharges the liquid in the same amount as the primary supernatant liquid discharged into the first treatment container, from the second syringe into the first balance container.
A centrifugal apparatus of the sixth invention includes: a centrifuging means for centrifuging the primary supernatant liquid in the above first treatment container to a secondary supernatant liquid and a secondary sediment liquid using the first balance container as a balance weight; take-out means for taking out the secondary supernatant liquid from the first treatment container in which the primary supernatant liquid has been centrifuged to the secondary supernatant liquid and the secondary sediment liquid while taking out the liquid in the same amount as the above secondary supernatant liquid having been taken out from the first balance container; conveying means for conveying the treatment container and the balance container between the centrifuging means and the take-out means,
the above centrifuging means being characterized in that it centrifuges the secondary sediment liquid remaining in the first treatment container using as a balance weight the first balance container from which the liquid has been taken out.
A centrifugal apparatus of the seventh invention includes: centrifuging means for centrifuging the primary supernatant liquid in the above first treatment container to a secondary supernatant liquid and a secondary sediment liquid using the above first balance container as a balance weight; take-out means for taking out the secondary supernatant liquid from the first treatment container in which the primary supernatant liquid has been centrifuged to the secondary supernatant liquid and the secondary sediment liquid and supplying the same to a second treatment container, while supplying the liquid in the same amount as the secondary supernatant liquid supplied to the second treatment container to a second balance container; conveying means for conveying the treatment container and the balance container between the centrifuging means and the take-out means,
the centrifuging means being characterized in that it centrifuges the secondary supernatant liquid in the second treatment container using the second balance container as a balance weight.
A centrifugal apparatus of the eighth invention is the centrifugal apparatus of the sixth or seventh invention, characterized in that the take-out means takes out the secondary supernatant liquid from the first treatment container in which the primary supernatant liquid has been centrifuged to the secondary supernatant liquid and the secondary sediment liquid and supplying the same to the second treatment container, while allowing the secondary sediment liquid to remain in the first treatment container,
and takes out from the first balance container the liquid in the same amount as the secondary supernatant liquid to be supplied to the second treatment container and supplies the same to the second balance container, while allowing the liquid in the same amount as the secondary sediment liquid remaining in the first treatment container to remain in the first balance container.
According to the supernatant liquid collector with a balance weight forming function of the first invention, a liquid to be separated into a primary supernatant liquid and a primary sediment liquid by sedimentation is accumulated in the first syringe and a liquid with a specific gravity equal to the above primary supernatant liquid is accumulated in the second syringe. After the liquid in the first syringe is separated into the primary supernatant liquid and the primary sediment liquid, the plungers of the first and second syringes are pushed with a pushing member at the same time.
Thus the primary supernatant liquid in the first syringe is discharged into the first treatment container and the same amount of liquid as the primary supernatant liquid discharged into the first treatment container from the second syringe is discharged into the first balance container at the same time.
Accordingly, the weight of the liquid in the first balance container becomes substantially the same as that of the primary supernatant liquid in the first treatment container; thus, a balance weight with the exact weight of the primary supernatant liquid can be formed at the same time that the primary supernatant liquid is collected by simple operation.
According to the centrifugal apparatus of the sixth invention, a primary supernatant liquid is prepared in the first treatment container and a liquid with a specific gravity equal to that of the primary supernatant liquid is prepared in the first balance container in the same amount as the primary supernatant with the above supernatant liquid collector and thereby the primary supernatant liquid in the first treatment container can be centrifuged to a secondary supernatant liquid and a secondary sediment liquid using the first balance container as a balance weight.
Then, with the take-out means, the secondary supernatant liquid alone can be taken out and discharged from the first treatment container while the liquid can be taken out and discharged from the first balance container in the same amount as the secondary supernatant liquid; as a result, the weight of the secondary sediment liquid remaining in the first treatment container becomes the same as that of the liquid remaining in the first balance container.
Therefore, after discharging the secondary supernatant liquid from the first treatment container, centrifugation can be carried out using the first balance container as a balance weight against the first treatment container.
According to the centrifugal apparatus of the seventh invention, a primary supernatant liquid is prepared in the first treatment container and a liquid with a specific gravity equal to that of the primary supernatant liquid is prepared in the first balance container in the same amount as the primary supernatant with the above supernatant liquid collector and thereby the primary supernatant liquid in the first treatment container can be centrifuged to a secondary supernatant liquid and a secondary sediment liquid using the first balance container as a balance weight.
Then, with the take-out means, the secondary supernatant liquid alone can be taken out from the first treatment container and supplied to the second treatment container while the liquid in the same amount as the secondary supernatant can be supplied to the second balance container; as a result, the weight of the secondary supernatant liquid supplied to the second treatment container becomes the same as that of the liquid supplied to the second balance container.
Therefore, centrifugation can be carried out using the second balance container as a balance weight against the second treatment container.
According to the centrifugal apparatus of the eighth invention, when taking out the secondary supernatant liquid with the above take-out means, the weight of the secondary sediment liquid remaining in the first treatment container can be the same as that of the liquid remaining in the first balance container while the weight of the secondary supernatant liquid supplied to the second treatment container can be the same as that of the liquid supplied to the second balance container.
Therefore, the first balance container and the second balance container can be prepared as balance weights against the first treatment container and the second treatment container, respectively, at the same time.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings.